thought yall might need a 4wd laugh

bradrhale · 03-10-2009, 11:56 AM

BIL bought this 85 K5 a few weeks ago. got real nice mud grips on it, blah, blah, blah. decided to have it lifted since his tires were eating themselves up on the fenders. sounded good to me. now, i dont know who put the blocks under the springs both front and rear, but the next day, most all the nuts on the u-bolts were loose. some more than a 1/4 inch away from the plate. he crawled up under there and "torqued" them back down with a combo wrench so he is good to go there.

now for the kicker. it turns extremely good to the left but he must do a 30 point turn to take a right. tires barely turn to the right. think it is funny as you know what.

mudseeker · 03-10-2009, 12:13 PM

dude, why would you let him do that!

75K30 · 03-10-2009, 12:16 PM

You have to tell your brother in law to get rid of the blocks. This is as terrible as canbe, and this is a primary reason why these should not be used under a steer axle.
Now for the steering. This is as simple as it gets. With the new lift, the drag link is too short and the angle of the drag link will no longer allow the box to turn the wheels the same amount. This becomes a real problem on the trail as this problem gets worse when the driver side suspension reaches full extension (I know that this truck still has stock sway bars connected so this limits articulation) and then the drag link becomes so short that the best the truck can do is point the wheels straighty. Reall, you cant turn. I can guarantee that the steering wheel is not centered either.
There are a couple of ways to fix this, and one is to install an adjuatable drag link, the other is to insall a dropped pitman arm, I suppose you could install a block under the steering arm, since most of the stuff is butchered anyway, but the correct fix would be to install a new 2wd box, and correct pitman arm, and install a crossover steering upgrade.
Even lifting just a little bit can really require some work, but as you can see, there is only one "right" way to do stuff.

bradrhale · 03-10-2009, 02:12 PM

i didnt let him do that. he claims to be all knowing.
he already has an adjustable drag link under it. but mentioned to me that he needs to go buy a shorter one. i thought that was backwards. 75, you are the man. it does have the stock sway bars on it. thought about telling him to take them off but could not make that recommendation as i dont know what that would do to the front end. i told him that those blocks were a pitiful idea. especially when i seen those u bolts. i know there are other ways to lift a solid front axle with leaf springs. offroading is not my field of expertise but i do know that. to be perfectly honest, i dont believe that truck will last much longer. running a 305 with stock gears and 35s, i believe. the tire size Q78. have no idea what that is.

Rago · 03-10-2009, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bradrhale

BIL bought this 85 K5 a few weeks ago. got real nice mud grips on it, blah, blah, blah. decided to have it lifted since his tires were eating themselves up on the fenders. sounded good to me. now, i dont know who put the blocks under the springs both front and rear, but the next day, most all the nuts on the u-bolts were loose. some more than a 1/4 inch away from the plate. he crawled up under there and "torqued" them back down with a combo wrench so he is good to go there.

now for the kicker. it turns extremely good to the left but he must do a 30 point turn to take a right. tires barely turn to the right. think it is funny as you know what.

Does Sis' plan on letting you have some of the insurance money? That's horrible man! I mean, sure, we can all get a kick out of some hillbilly homebrew lift, but you ain't seriously gonna let him drive that thing are you?

75K30 · 03-10-2009, 02:43 PM

This is probably one of the easiest trucks to lift. Kits are cheap and easy to find.
The biggest and easiest swap is to install a 52" spring under it and these are cheap. I mean cheap. For the cost of new u-bolts, you know the longer ones required to install a block and the cost of the block itself, is about the same as installing the correect spring from the beginning.
Really. I have been there and done some rather interesting things, and fortunately learned and have not killed myself in the process, lol.
The added rate of the new springs will provide lift and the longer spring will provide flex. All of this can and will move the axle foward some, and this adds additional clearance. This is a win, win, win situation.
The blocks,,,,,,,,,,well, nobody wins here. Oh maybe the guy that sold the blocks and the u-bolts, he moght be the only winner here.
In this particualr case, it can cost less to do it right. Now, since the expanse has been made, the costs have doubled. I mean it will cost even more money to re-do this lift and this is more expensive than it would have been to lift it with correct springs from the beginning.

Have you any pics of this jewel??????

I can offer some inexpansive suggestions for a proper lift. Shackle flip in the rear and sme used springs up front will be a quick and painless solution.
Just labor really, and I know you guys can handle a little labor. Spring is in the air, so the weather is getting right for a nice little weekend project.

leolkfrm · 03-10-2009, 03:27 PM

Is your BIL related to GMC"s BIL

bradrhale · 03-10-2009, 03:27 PM

let me state this and get an understanding here. this is his truck and he says that he knows how and what to do. offering him advice or help is useless as he thinks that i am the dummy. i have rode through the country side with him in this thing before all this but that has been about it.
next time he comes over, ill shoot some pics of the truck. ill see if i can get some pics of his setup underneath as well to show you what he has to work with.
i 100% agree that blocks are not the way to go. never disputed that. making him understand what you are telling me though is another thing. some friend of a friend owed a favor to a cousin, who knows. think that he spent 250 or 300 on these blocks. paid 1600 for the truck origally, running and with title. the only thing wrong with the truck is the muffler is almost missing and it desperately needs a new column. that and all the joints for the drag link, pitman arm, yada, yada.

75K30 · 03-10-2009, 04:12 PM

Ah man, I understand the whole thing. I have tried several times to convince folks that sometimes cheap just aint right.
I want to point out though that some of what you say supports my theory. See those blocks up front are fairly spendy, and a set of springs would have been less money and would never have offered this type of trouble.
Sometimes it is difficult to pass some of this along, and usually it takes something like your original post to make some folks understand, however, that is only if they are willing or even able to comprehend. In many cases this is a stretch......lol.

bradrhale · 03-10-2009, 06:06 PM

stretch, is that a joke??

what about these tires?? they have Q78X16 written on them. what size are they?? cannot remember off of the top of my head what brand they are but they have no dimensions printed on them.
he is not coming over this afternoon so it will be a couple of days before i can post up some pics. really doesnt look half bad especially for the price he paid.

03-10-2009, 11:56 AM	#1
bradrhale Senior Moderator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 8,021	thought yall might need a 4wd laugh BIL bought this 85 K5 a few weeks ago. got real nice mud grips on it, blah, blah, blah. decided to have it lifted since his tires were eating themselves up on the fenders. sounded good to me. now, i dont know who put the blocks under the springs both front and rear, but the next day, most all the nuts on the u-bolts were loose. some more than a 1/4 inch away from the plate. he crawled up under there and "torqued" them back down with a combo wrench so he is good to go there. now for the kicker. it turns extremely good to the left but he must do a 30 point turn to take a right. tires barely turn to the right. think it is funny as you know what.

03-10-2009, 12:13 PM	#2
mudseeker Senior Moderator Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: michigan Posts: 6,373	dude, why would you let him do that! __________________ i'd rather be hunting

03-10-2009, 03:27 PM	#7
leolkfrm Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: N.Y. Posts: 4,300	Is your BIL related to GMC"s BIL __________________ 4 wheels move the body 2 wheels move the soul B.W.A.I

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03-10-2009, 12:16 PM	#3
75K30 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 2,992	You have to tell your brother in law to get rid of the blocks. This is as terrible as canbe, and this is a primary reason why these should not be used under a steer axle. Now for the steering. This is as simple as it gets. With the new lift, the drag link is too short and the angle of the drag link will no longer allow the box to turn the wheels the same amount. This becomes a real problem on the trail as this problem gets worse when the driver side suspension reaches full extension (I know that this truck still has stock sway bars connected so this limits articulation) and then the drag link becomes so short that the best the truck can do is point the wheels straighty. Reall, you cant turn. I can guarantee that the steering wheel is not centered either. There are a couple of ways to fix this, and one is to install an adjuatable drag link, the other is to insall a dropped pitman arm, I suppose you could install a block under the steering arm, since most of the stuff is butchered anyway, but the correct fix would be to install a new 2wd box, and correct pitman arm, and install a crossover steering upgrade. Even lifting just a little bit can really require some work, but as you can see, there is only one "right" way to do stuff.

03-10-2009, 02:12 PM	#4
bradrhale Senior Moderator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 8,021	i didnt let him do that. he claims to be all knowing. he already has an adjustable drag link under it. but mentioned to me that he needs to go buy a shorter one. i thought that was backwards. 75, you are the man. it does have the stock sway bars on it. thought about telling him to take them off but could not make that recommendation as i dont know what that would do to the front end. i told him that those blocks were a pitiful idea. especially when i seen those u bolts. i know there are other ways to lift a solid front axle with leaf springs. offroading is not my field of expertise but i do know that. to be perfectly honest, i dont believe that truck will last much longer. running a 305 with stock gears and 35s, i believe. the tire size Q78. have no idea what that is.

03-10-2009, 02:43 PM	#6
75K30 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 2,992	This is probably one of the easiest trucks to lift. Kits are cheap and easy to find. The biggest and easiest swap is to install a 52" spring under it and these are cheap. I mean cheap. For the cost of new u-bolts, you know the longer ones required to install a block and the cost of the block itself, is about the same as installing the correect spring from the beginning. Really. I have been there and done some rather interesting things, and fortunately learned and have not killed myself in the process, lol. The added rate of the new springs will provide lift and the longer spring will provide flex. All of this can and will move the axle foward some, and this adds additional clearance. This is a win, win, win situation. The blocks,,,,,,,,,,well, nobody wins here. Oh maybe the guy that sold the blocks and the u-bolts, he moght be the only winner here. In this particualr case, it can cost less to do it right. Now, since the expanse has been made, the costs have doubled. I mean it will cost even more money to re-do this lift and this is more expensive than it would have been to lift it with correct springs from the beginning. Have you any pics of this jewel?????? I can offer some inexpansive suggestions for a proper lift. Shackle flip in the rear and sme used springs up front will be a quick and painless solution. Just labor really, and I know you guys can handle a little labor. Spring is in the air, so the weather is getting right for a nice little weekend project.

03-10-2009, 04:12 PM	#9
75K30 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 2,992	Ah man, I understand the whole thing. I have tried several times to convince folks that sometimes cheap just aint right. I want to point out though that some of what you say supports my theory. See those blocks up front are fairly spendy, and a set of springs would have been less money and would never have offered this type of trouble. Sometimes it is difficult to pass some of this along, and usually it takes something like your original post to make some folks understand, however, that is only if they are willing or even able to comprehend. In many cases this is a stretch......lol.

03-10-2009, 06:06 PM	#10
bradrhale Senior Moderator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 8,021	stretch, is that a joke?? what about these tires?? they have Q78X16 written on them. what size are they?? cannot remember off of the top of my head what brand they are but they have no dimensions printed on them. he is not coming over this afternoon so it will be a couple of days before i can post up some pics. really doesnt look half bad especially for the price he paid.